In the early hours of May 26, Court Simonne-Mathieu at Roland Garros witnessed a historic moment when French teen Moise Kouame beat Croatia's Marin Cilic 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-1. With this victory, Kouame, just 17 years and 2 months old, became the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam match since 2009, when Bernard Tomic of Australia reached the second round of the Australian Open at age 16.
Moreover, this is the first time since 1991 that Roland Garros has seen a 17-year-old win a first-round match. Kouame is also the first teenager to defeat a Grand Slam champion in his official debut at a major tournament since Marat Safin beat Andre Agassi in 1998.
Who is Moise Kouame? Born in 2009 in Sarcelles, a suburb of Paris, Kouame has Ivorian and Cameroonian heritage. His mother taught him tennis and now manages his career. He started playing at age six, inspired by his older brother Michael, and trains at the National Tennis Center in Poitiers. Former world No. 7 Richard Gasquet is his coach.
Playing style: At 1.91 m, Kouame boasts a powerful serve and forehand, adapting well to all surfaces. His nickname is “KTT”, short for “Kouame every surface”.
Historic win and emotions: “It’s a lot of emotion, it’s extraordinary,” Kouame said after the match. “Coming into this tournament, I didn’t really know what to expect. The team and I worked hard to be as ready as possible.” He noted that experience in Miami and Monte-Carlo helped greatly. “Technically, I’m quite calm. I knew I was ready and felt good both mentally and physically.”
On Instagram, Kouame thanked everyone who supported him and said winning on home soil made it even more special. Asked about the 20-year age gap with Cilic, the teen said: “I don’t care about his age. I just want to hit the hardest shots I can. For some, age can be a factor, but for me, I try to focus, not think about it, because in the end, when you’re on court, you don’t think about age or what you’ll eat. You think about what you have to do to win.”
Next steps: After his historic victory, Kouame will face Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the second round. Earlier, he lost in the first round of men’s doubles partnering Giovanni Mpetshi Perrica against American duo Robert Cash and James Tracy. In mixed doubles, he will team up with France’s No. 2 women’s player Elsa Jacquemot to face Christian Harrison (USA) and Fanny Stollar (Hungary).
